In 16 years with Shar-Pei we made 34 Champions, including 3 Grand Champions [the second Shar-Pei in NSW, the first 2 Grand Ch & (currently the only 2) Shar-Pei in the Hunter and the Central Coast], including those we have sold and our bought-in breeding stock. We have also used imported American semen, which gave us a very exciting litter (F) from which we kept a girl & boy which we made Champions (Fame & Fortune). We name litters alphabetically for control purposes.

We have always aimed to breed quality not quantity. This is what gives us joy with each litter. Naturally we try to make some profit, which we calculate on "full cost" accounting principles. We are not "cheap", but with everything in life you get what you pay for. We have been told many times by various people that they have bought a cheap pup & spent more with a vet than we charge for a show puppy. One even had it die after all the vet expenditure (over $2000). They paid $1500 without papers at a pet shop, which was disinterested in their plight.

In our many years of breeding, we have bred German Shepherds, Basenji, Rottweillers and now currently only Chinese Shar-Pei. We find Shar-Pei the most affectionate and a great family pet. Owning a Chinese Shar-Pei is like having another person in the house. It really is an honour to breed such wonderful loving creatures. We love them a lot.

We breed from Champions, and endeavour to improve the breed, and usually have pups available, fit for show or family pets. We breed for temperament and type and strive to produce both horse and brush coats in a variety of colours to truly reflect the breed. We are known for producing good type, good heads (important for a "head" breed), good wrinkles, powerful movement with good stretch (not stilted) & excellent temperament. Our dogs are handsome & our girls are pretty, something some judges do not expect in Shar-Pei.

Our puppies are house raised and handled continually until weaning to teach them to appreciate people. When selecting, people always comment on how affectionate the babies are. When owners bring them back to see us, they comment on how the dogs always remember us, even if they have not seen us for a couple of years.

Upon weaning we introduce them to a grass run where they “house-train “ themselves. They have access to an outside room (which can be heated) with their mum. At night they are locked in. We still love to play with them. From about 6 weeks they are separated from mum.

Shar-Pei prefer to relieve themselves outside, which is why they are so popular for high-rise apartments.

The Popularity of Wayatinah

When we had Rottweillers we were asked to do a pilot TV commercial for "Mead". This was a shoot featuring a "slavemaster" controlling "slaves" with a whip & 2 Rottweillers. What a thrill to "ghosthandle" the dogs off camera. Good temperament & steadiness were essential!

Breed Standard

Chinese Shar-Pei
Breed Standard (c)

Every breed which is shown has a written breed standard. This is used by breeders to ensure that all Shar-Pei look like Shar-Pei and not boxers. It also ensures that all judges have the same information. The Australian standard is based on the UK and was updated in 2001.

A Summary ( without being too technical) of the Australian Standard follows. This is what you should look for in Shar-Pei.

Temperament: Calm, independent, very affectionate and devoted to people (primarily their owners). (They can get excited when the "boss" comes home.)

Head and Skull: The Shar-Pei is classed as a "head breed", which means that the head should be prominent and rather large in proportion to the body. Put simply they should have a "hippopotamous" type look, with a broad full muzzle.

Body: Shar-Pei should be " square" as noted above. Depth of brisket (breast bone) half of height at withers ("shoulders"). Chest broad and deep, underline rising slightly under loin. Back short, strong. Topline dips slightly behind withers then rises over short, broad loin. Adult Shar-Pei should display moderate wrinkling over shoulders and base of tail. Excessive skin on body when mature highly undesirable. (There has been a trend, especially in the USA, to very heavy wrinkling which may cause problems, and the intention is to control this.)

Tail: Rounded, narrowing to a fine point, base set very high. May be carried high and curved; carried in tight curl; or curved over. Lack of ,or incomplete, tail highly undersirable.

Gait/Movement: Free, vigorous and balanced, rear single tracking is normal at a fast trot. Stilted ("not stretching") gait undesirable.
( The USA Shar-Pei standard asks for the feet to converge on a centre point of gravity, which is what "stilted" is trying to convey in one word. The movement looks much better when this occurs.)

Coat: Extremely harsh coat, straight and off-standing on the body but flatter on the limbs. Shar-Pei should have no undercoat. Length varies from short and bristly, under 1.25cm or longer and thicker between 1.25cm and 2.5cm, but still off-standing and harsh. N.B. No coat length within the range should be preferred. Never trimmed. (You may hear reference to "mid-coat", which is about the 1.25cm length. This is a descriptive term, and not noted in the Standard. It is acceptable and does have a slightly different look. Excessive length of coat is called a "Bear Coat" and can not be shown, being a fault.)

Colour: All solid colours except white are acceptable. Frequently shaded on tail and back of thighs with lighter colour. [In many cases the colour is darker on the centreline and lighter on the sides- this is not regarded as a fault. Often mature black Shar-Pei will look "faded" when a Horse Coat (short) but is not so common in Brush Coats (longer)]

Size: Height 46-51cm at withers. (There is no such recognized breed as a "Mini Shar-Pei" or a "Royal Mini Shar-Pei". An attempt to register a "mini" breed in the USA failed. The "royal" version apparantly originated in Hong Kong)

(based on the Australian Standard, and slightly abbreviated with explanatory notes )

Shar-Pei experiences

We did a TV shoot for Lotto Systems with Champions Wayatinah Atelier & Alchera when young pups. They had to endure tickets falling all over the set.

For Burke's Backyard we did a shoot with Katrina Warren using two black baby girls (one later being exported). This was to show the effectiveness of a "netting" system to stop the pups damaging a garden. When it was finished the system was removed & the two pups promptly demolished a $100 plant. We were all in fits of laughter & it was left in because it demonstrated the effectiveness of the system.

In 2004 we took 5 to appear on the Kerrie-Anne Show. Two other breeds were included & we were first to be interviewed about our breed. When it was finished Kerri-Anne returned to spend more time with the Shar-Pei. She really is a charming lady.

In 2006 3 of our babies were used by L'oreal in a promotion for a new skin care product. Everyone wanted to handle them, & they created more attention than the models.

In 2007 Ch Wayatinah Halo of Gold began visiting the aged care facility where Marilyn's mother was residing. All of the residents loved her & patted her & she enjoyed it too. Marilyn has been told that Halo was "better" than the other dogs that visited, & they had been specially trained for the purpose. Sadly both her mum & Halo have now passed on.

The Chinese Shar-pei is probably one of the lowest maintenance breeds. The do house train easily, being by nature very clean.

They go through a puppy stage but mature quite quickly. Because they mature emotionally quickly this keeps the digging, chewing and general puppy problems minimal.

They tend to be self-exercising and therefore do not necessarily require a large yard. However if you want to walk them every day they will oblige.

This has made them the choice for many apartment dwellers.

Chinese Shar-Pei will be good for you if you require a good steady companion that will keep the house intact, be a guard dog and adapt to a variety of situations.

They will recognize the sound of the family cars but bark if a strange car calls.

Because Shar-Pei are highly intelligent and dominant it is important to ensure that the humans are in charge or they will be. This must be established early or the dog will soon have the best arm-chair. You must firm but kind.

They will usually be aloof with strangers. This is not necessarily shyness, and we have trained some to be quite outgoing. We have also trained some that were shy to be much better, so much so that they became Champions. In many ways they can be like children and we speak to them as if they are. Like children they do like their cuddles. They tend to select a “favourite” family member, who may be the one who spends the most time with and feeds them, but may be the one they see as the dominant one.

We have found them good with cats. There is a suggestion that Chinese Shar-Pei come from the “cat side” of the dog family.

They may not be always be good with other dog breeds especially if the other is dominant too. Shar-Pei may not start a fight but they will probably want to finish one.

We have found that a Shar-Pei dog and a bitch are fine together and 2 bitches can be good too. However 2 dogs may be a problem, especially if there is a bitch in heat nearby, unless the older one has “raised” the younger. It is interesting that the bitches are the most jealous of attention from the “favourite” family member.

There are stories about how difficult Chinese Shar-Pei are to maintain, especially with regards to eyes and coat problems. Good breeders are trying to reduce eye problems and “tack” early if required. However as people like many wrinkles it is difficult to totally eliminate entropion (which is caused by the eye-lash rubbing on the eye) because it is often just the weight of the wrinkles that causes the problem. However one well known vet , who is also a judge, told us that he would rather see a Shar-Pei with an entropion rather then a mouth problem because the former is easily corrected. Eye problems may also be caused by allergic reactions to some plants and therefore not be entropeon. We have been told that some vets try to find "entropean" & skin or other problems in every Shar-Pei they see. Perhaps they just want to make money, as we have heard of "excessive"charges by some.

We believe that many coat problems are caused by allergic reactions. Fleas, dermadectic mange, mosquitoes, some plants/grass seeds and diet have been implicated. It is our feeling that allergic reactions in all dog breeds have increased. This may be due to better diagnosis or change in diet ( eg more dry food being used – many Shar-pei breeders believe that dry food for Shar-Pei should be rice based. In humans too there is now more talk of allergy to foods than there was some years ago.) We have also heard that some may have thyroid problems leading to skin conditions, but have not seen this ourselves. We doubt that this would be a breed specific problem.

There is certainly no need to clean between the folds of Chinese Shar-Pei skin as has been suggested. As they move the skin moves and therefore it "breathes". It is better not to wash them too frequently because it removes the natural oils and this may itself cause skin problems.

Chinese Shar-Pei History

The name is both singular and plural. In Chinese it means“ sandy skinned” (or “shark skinned”). The original dogs apparently had short harsh coats. The hair is thick but sparse and does not split like most and has sharp points. The short coat, known as “Horse Coat”, may cause skin irritation in some people. The longer coat (1 inch or 25mm maximum) known as “Brush Coat”, causes less irritation. Some say that the “brush coat” was developed outside of China, whilst others say that the “Horse Coat” originated in southern China and the “Brush Coat” in northern China.

In common with many breeds the origin of the Shar-Pei is clouded in folklore. It is suggested that they existed during the Han Dynasty(206BC – 220AD). It has been claimed that they were used primarily for protection of farms and people from wild animals and bandits in the Chinese countryside. Others claim that they were used for herding. Yet another theory is that they were used for hunting (primarily mongoose).

The use of Shar-Pei as fighting dogs was apparently confined to southern China and it has been said that they had to be drugged to fight. Gambling was the main reason for the fighting, rather than the temperament of the dog. With the introduction of larger, fiercer dogs from Europe their breeding was neglected.

Beginning with Mao Tse Tung, heavy taxes were placed on dog ownership which lead to all dogs being slaughtered by the thousands.

In the mid-1960’s the Shar-Pei was taken to the USA as the Chinese Fighting Dog, but was not popular. About the same time, a breeder named Matgo Law in Hong Kong began collecting what he thought were Chinese Shar-Pei. In 1973, when he felt that he was loosing the battle to save the breed from extinction he wrote an article in the USA Dogs Magazine appealing for help. This gained many replies from the USA. In 1978 Guinness Book Of World Records listed Shar-Pei as the world’s rarest dog breed. This lead to the importation into the USA and UK From there they have moved into most countries (including China), and some have also been imported into Australia from Hong Kong too.